Vegan chicken brand NUGGS – which has received investment from Arnie‘s son Patrick Schwarzenegger, is launching in two major US retailers.
The startup describes itself as the Tesla of chicken. Its plant-based nuggets have debuted in 800 Walmart stores across the US. Next month, they will also become available in nearly 400 Target locations.
Patrick Schwarzenegger
Patrick started his own investment company back in 2019. Now, he is involved with a slew of brands such as Super Coffee, Blaze Pizza, and Verb Energy.
NUGGS’ plant-based product is made primarily from texturized pea protein technology enabling the brand to create a ‘tender and juicy nugget that is more advanced than an animal-based nugget’.
They contain 13g of protein (about 25 percent more than animal-based) and 10g of fat (about 40 percent less than animal-based). Moreover, they’re cholesterol-free.
“NUGGS is the intersection of food and the internet,” Ben Pasternak, the company’s founder said.
“We set out to make the best nugget period, a chicken nugget simulation is just the baseline.”
NUGGS
Last year, the startup partnered with global giant McCain Foods to help it ‘accelerate’ growth and ‘deliver market scale’.
Mauro Pennella is the Chief Growth Officer at McCain Foods. He said: “NUGGS is an incredible product in itself and a very tasty chicken nugget simulation.
“Furthermore, the NUGGS teams approach to fast, iterative innovation, based on constant consumer feedback is a great way to create products people love.”